Self-centering and venting closure

ABSTRACT

A closure having an outer annular leg to engage a bead about the rim of an open container body, an annular flexible sealing leg having spaced recesses to allow compressed gas to escape during the engagement of the closure to the container body and to provide a seal when the engagement is complete, an inner annular leg and a generally flat center portion to compensate for stresses during cooling of the molded closure and to act as a receptacle for a stacked container. The outer annular leg also has an end recess for self centering of the closure upon the container rim.

United States Patent .Yates, Jr. [451 July 18, 1972 541 SELF-CENTERINGAND VENTING 3,516,571 6/1970 Roper et al ..220/60 R CLOSURE 2,950,813 8/1960 Koones ..220/44 R [72] Inventor: George Yates, Jr., Glendale,Calif. Primary Examiner seorge Hall [73] Assign; Growth InternationalIndustries Corp" Attorney-Ronald L. Engel, Daniel W. Vittum, Jr., JohnA.

Cleveland, Ohio 9mr W: Walters an 9 Golan [22] Filed: Aug. 24, 1970ABSTRACT [21] Appl. No.: 66,529 e A closure having an outer annular legto engage a bead about Related Applicatmn Dan the rim of an opencontainer body, an annular flexible sealing [63] Continuation-impart ofSer. No. 883,694, Dec. 10, leg Paving spaced recesses to allowcompressed gas t escape 1969 abandoned durmg the engagement of theclosure to the container body and to provide a seal when the engagementis complete, an

inner annular leg and a generally flat center portion to com- [52] U.S.Cl 22 2211547506 pensate for messes during cooling of the molded closureand B65d 41 22 to act as a receptacle for a stacked container. The outerannula.r leg also has an end recess for self centering of the closure[58] Field of Search ..2l5/4 l 56, 42, 40; 220/60, upon the containerrim [56] References Cited 9 Claims 5 Drawing UNITED STATES PATENTS3,378,177 4/1968 Gran ..220/42 C Patentd July 18, 1972 2 Sheets-Sheet lPatented July 18, 1972 3,677,430

2 Sheets-Sheet 2 v SELF-CEN'IERING AND VENTING CImURE CROSS-REFERENCE TORELATED APPLICATION BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of theInvention The present invention relates to the container closure artand, more particularly, to a closure having a flexible sealing member,recesses for venting, a recess for self-centering on the container and arecess for providing a stable stacking base.

2. Description of the Prior Art The use of synthetic resin closures andcontainers has increased rapidly within the last few years. This widerspread use has pointed out deficiencies in the prior art closurestructure; to obviate the deficiencies further development was required.For example, there has always existed a sealing problem and the lack ofan economical solution to the problem. Further, it had been found thatwhen a closure was lockingly engaged to a container by machine, air inthe space above the contents of the container became compressed causingthe closure and/or container to bellow outwardly. Still furtherdeficiency related to the difficulty of properly aligning a containerand a closure to allow a machine to apply the engagement force. Finally,there was a stability problem for stacked, sealed containers when instorage and/or during transportation.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention solves theabove-mentioned problems by providing a tamper proof closure adapted toclose an open end of a container body comprising a center portion; aperipheral channel connected to the center portion and having a baseportion from which extends an outer annular leg, an inner annular leg,and an annular flexible sealing leg, the annular flexible sealing legbeing positioned between the inner and the outer annular legs; and meansconnected to the peripheral channel adapted to lockingly engage the openend of the container body whereby the open end of the container body isreceivable between the outer annular leg and the annular flexiblesealing leg, and the annular flexible sealing leg is adapted to abut theend of said container body and flex to form at least a partial sealabout the open end.

An object of the present invention is to provide a closure which isself-sealing.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a closure whichallows compresed gas, such as air, to escape from the space in acontainer body above the contents within the container body when theclosure is engaged to the container body.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide a closurewhich is self-centering on a container body to facilitate engagement ofthe closure to the container body, especially when the closure ishandled by a machine during the engagement process.

Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a closurewhich will act as a receptacle for the bottom portion of anothercontainer so that stable stacking of a multiple number of sealedcontainers is achievable.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a container havingall of the four above-mentioned features in a single closure embodiment.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is an elevational view of acontainer body with a closure in locking engagement partially brokenaway to illustrate the contents of the container.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged elevational sectional view of a portion of acontainer body and a closure in a partially engaged position andfeaturing a gas escape route.

FIG. 3 is a bottom view of a portion of the closure of FIGS. I and 2.

FIG. 4 is an enlarged sectional view of the closure sealed to thecontainer body taken along line 4-4 of FIG. 1 including an illustrationof a bottom portion of another container body stacked upon the closure.

FIG. 5 is an enlarged elevational sectional view similar to that shownin FIG. 2 illustrating the self-centering feature of the closure.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS While the present invention issusceptible of various modifications and alternative constructions, anillustrative embodiment is shown in the drawings and will herein bedescribed in detail. It should be understood, however, that it is notthe intention to limit the invention to the particular form disclosed,but, on the contrary, the intention is to cover all modifications,equivalents, and alternative constructions falling within the spirit andscope of the invention as expressed in the appended claims.

Referring now to FIG. 1, there is illustrated a closed container 10comprised of a container body 12 and a closure 14. A liquid content 16is within the container body 12, though it is to be understood that thecontainer may be used to enclose any suitable product whether liquid orsolid. The container body and the closure are preferably constructed ofa synthetic resin material, though metals or glasses may be selectivelyused. A suitable synthetic resin material is polyethylene having adensity ranging between 0.941 and 0.965 grams per cubic centimeter (ASTMTest D-l505 63T) and a melt index ranging between 0.1 and 25.0 (ASTMTest D-l 238 -62T). When the latter-mentioned polyethylene is employedin producing an injection molded closure, the melt index preferably liesbetween 4.0 and 25.0. It is, of course, to be understood that theclosure member may be constructed or fabricated from various othersuitable materials and by any one of a variety of manufacturingprocesses.

As shown, the container body 12 is generally cylindrical having a slighttaper of about 2 degrees. The closure 14 conform to the container body.

Referring now to FIG. 4, there is illustrated in more detail the variousportions of the closure and the locking engagement between the closureand the container body. About the open end of the container body is abead 16 which extends in an outward direction away from the interior ofthe container. The head includes a cam surface 18 and an abuttmentsurface 20 which act in conjunction with a cam follower surface 22 andan abuttment surface 24, respectively, of the closure to cause thelocking engagement of the closure and the container body. The camfollower surface 22 and the abuttment surface 24 are part of an inwardlyextending bead 26 which in integral with an annular outer leg 28. Theouter leg is connected at one end to a base portion 30 from which anannular inner leg 32 and an annular flexible sealing leg 34 extend. Thebase portion, the outer annular leg, the inner annular leg, and theannular flexible sealing leg comprise a peripheral channel whichreceives the bead 16 of the container body between the outer leg and thesealing leg. Connected to the inner annular leg 32 at an end 36 which isopposite from the base portion is a center portion 38 of the closure.The center portion is generally flat except for a small central recess40 which is provided to receive a ring 41 of material connected to abottom portion 43 of a stacked container body.

In accordance with one of the important aspects of the presentinvention, provision is made for allowing the usually progressivelycompresed gas pocket formed above the contents of the container toescape during the closure engaging process. This prevents the closureand/or container body from bellowing outwardly and provides a generallymore stable container. Referring now to FIGS. 2 and 3, the closure ispartially engaged to the bead 16 of the container body. The termpartially engag is used to mean that the abuttment surface 24 of thebead 26 on the closure has not yet come in contact with the abuttmentsurface 20 of the bead 16. Thus in FIG. 2 the cam surface 18 is shown tohave forced the cam follower surface 22 outwardly so as to cause the leg28 to have a bowed or generally arcuate configuration. Meanwhile, theannular flexible sealing leg 34 abuts the interior surface 42 of thecontainer body and is flexed thereby. Spaced along the flexible sealingleg is a plurality of recesses 44 which provide a passageway for theescape of gas or air within the spacing 46. It is to be understood thatthe liquid content 16 has a level slightly below the region to beoccupied by the closure. When a machine is used to apply the engagingforce to the closure, the machine applies the force equally around theperipheral channel. Gas occupying the space between the liquid contentand the bead of the container body would ordinarily be progressivelycompressed as the closure and container body engaged. This causes anunnecessary stress on the container body and the closure. By providingthe recesses 44 in the flexible leg extending from an end 48 of theflexible leg(which is opposite the end of the flexible sealing legconnected to the base portion 30) the compressed gas is allowed toescape upwardly along the interior surface 42 over the bead 16 and thenthrough one of a plurality of apertures 50 (FIG. 1). As fully disclosedin the abovementioned copending application, the apertures are alsoprovided to allow separation of the closure from the container.

It is noted in FIG. 4 that when the closure and the container body arein their locked, engaged position, the interior surface 42 of thecontainer body extends beyond the recesses 44 so that the annularflexible sealing leg acts m a seal. This is so even though during theengagement process gas is allowed to escape. The sealing provided by theflexible sealing leg is enhanced because the sealing leg is of a guagesufficiently flexible to allow the leg to conform to the slopinginterior surface of the container body. It is preferred that the closurebe made of a material having a memory, that is, any distortion of anelement will establish a biasing force tending to return the element toits original position. Thus, the flexing of the sealing leg by theinterior surface of the container body establishes a biasing force inthe sealing leg attempting to return the sealing leg to its originalposition. (In FIG. 4, the original position is shown in phantom linewhile the flexed position is shown in solid line.) This biasing forceincreases the sealing abuttment between the sealing leg and the interiorsurface of the container body. In the fully engaged locking position,additional scaling is accomplished by providing a hollow O-ring seal 52in the space between the bead 16 and the base portion 30. The Oring iscompressed when the closure and the container body are fully engaged tosubstantially fill the space and provide a hermetic sea].

In accordance with another major aspect of the present invention, theclosure is constructed to allow stable stacking of one container uponanother. This is achieved partially by venting the compressed gases soas to prevent the closure or the container body from bellowing outwardlyunder the increased pressure and partly by the structural form of theclosure. Referring once again to FIG. 4, the inner annular leg 32 andthe center portion 38 form a generally cylindrical receptacle to receivethe bottom portion 43 of a container body which has been stacked uponthe closure. The inner annular leg has a diametrical dimension slightlylarger than the diameter of the bottom portion of the stacked containerso that an abuttment retainer is achieved. The inner annular leg andcenter portion also provide a non-warped platform contributing to stablestacking of a large number of containers. This latter quality isachieved by the hinging or connection of the inner annular leg Inaccordance with still another important aspect of the present invention,provision is made for facilitating centering of the closure upon theopen end of the container. This is important when the closure is engagedto the container body by machine. Most machines are designed to apply aclosure force in a downward direction and cannot laterally orient theclosure relative the container body. The present invention provides forthe self centering of the closure on the container body. Referring nowto FIG. 5, this is accomplished by a crooked end portion 60 of the outerannular leg 28 which forns an annular recess 62. The recess is formed ofa generally vertical wall 64 extending from the end of the outer annularleg to a slanted wall 66 which is contiguous with the cam followersurface 22. The diarnetral dimension from one point on the wall 64 to apoint opposite is slightly larger than the diametral dimension of thesurface 68 of the bead 16. Thus, if the closure is placed upon thecontainer slightly off center, downward pressure upon the closure willtend to bring the slanted surface 66 into contact with the cam surface18 of the bead 16. Of course, if this downward force is increased andcontinued, the annular outer leg 28 will tend to be moved outwardly asthe cam surface 18 engages the cam follower surface 22. More succinctly,the slanted surface 66 acts as a funnel to guide the position of theclosure relative the bead of the container body.

What is claimed is:

1. A tamper-proof closure adapted to close an open end of a containerbody comprising:

a center portion;

a peripheral channel comprising a base portion, an outer annular legattached to an outer edge of said base portion and extending downwardlytherefrom, an inner annular leg attached to an inner edge of said baseportion and extending downwardly therefrom, said center portion beingattached to a lower edge of said inner annular leg, and an annularflexible sealing leg attached to said base portion and extendingdownwardly therefrom, said annular flexible sealing leg being positionedbetween said inner and said outer annular legs, a plurality of openingsspaced about said outer annular leg, a lower edge of said outer annularleg being continuous about said outer annular leg and said lower edgebeing severable at said plurality of openings to facilitate removal ofsaid closure; and

means connected to said peripheral channel adapted to lockingly engagethe open end of said container body whereby the open end of saidcontainer body is receivable between said outer annular leg and saidannular flexible sealing leg and said annular flexible sealing leg isadapted to abut the end of said container body and flex to form at leasta partial seal about said open end.

2. A closure as claimed in claim 1 wherein said annular flexible leg hasa plurality of recessed portions extending from an end of said flexibleleg toward said base portion and spaced about a surface of the flexibleleg facing said outer annular leg whereby during the engagement of saidclosure and said container body compressed gas may escape along saidrecessed portion.

3. A closure as claimed in claim 2 wherein said center portion isconnected to an end of said inner annular leg whereby said centerportion and said inner annular leg form a receptacle to receive a bottomend of a stacked container body.

4. A closure as claimed in claim 1 wherein an end portion of said outerannular leg opposite said base portion is crooked to form a recess forfacilitating the centering of said closure upon said open end of saidcontainer body.

5. A tamper-proof closure adapted to close an open end of a containerbody comprising:

a center portion;

a peripheral channel comprising a base portion, an outer annular legattached to an outer edge of said base portion and extending downwardlytherefrom; an inner annular leg attached to an inner edge of said baseportion and extending downwardly therefrom, said center portion beingintegrally formed to a lower edge of said inner annular leg, and anannular flexible sealing leg attached to said base portion and extendingdownwardly therefrom, said annular flexible sealing leg being positionedbetween said inner and said outer annular legs;

a projecting bead integral with said outer annular leg and extendingtoward said annular flexible sealing leg, said head being spaced apartfrom an end of said outer annular leg opposite the base and said beadincluding a cam follower surface and an abutment surface; and

a plurality of openings spaced about said closure in said annular outerleg, an end portion of said outer annular leg opposite said base beingcontinuous about said closure said end portion of said outer annular legbeing severable at said plurality of openings to facilitate removal ofsaid closure, whereby the open end of said container body is receivablebetween said outer annular leg and said armular flexible sealing leg andsaid annular flexible sealing leg is adapted to abut the end of saidcontainer body and flex to form at least a partial seal about said openend.

6. A closure as claimed in claim 5 wherein said annular flexible leg hasa plurality of recessed portions extending from an end of said flexibleleg toward said base portion and spaced about a surface of the flexibleleg facing said outer annular leg whereby during the engagement of saidclosure and said container body compressed gas may escape along saidrecessed portion.

7. A closure as claimed in claim 6 wherein said center portion isconnected to an end of said inner annular leg whereby said centerportion and said inner annular leg form a receptacle to receive a bottomend of a stacked container body.

8. A closure as claimed in claim 7 wherein an end portion of said outerannular leg opposite said base portion is crooked to form a recess forfacilitating the centering of said closure upon said open end of saidcontainer body.

9. A closure as claimed in claim 5 wherein an end portion of said outerannular leg opposite said base portion is crooked to form a recess forfacilitating the centering of said closure upon said open end of saidcontainer body.

I i t

1. A tamper-proof closure adapted to close an open end of a containerbody comprising: a center portion; a peripheral channel comprising abase portion, an outer annular leg attached to an outer edge of saidbase portion and extending downwardly therefrom, an inner annular legattached to an inner edge of said base portion and extending downwardlytherefrom, said center portion being attached to a lower edge of saidinner annular leg, and an annular flexible sealing leg attached to saidbase portion and extending downwardly therefrom, said annular flexiblesealing leg being positioned between said inner and said outer annularlegs, a plurality of openings spaced about said outer annular leg, alower edge of said outer annular leg being continuous about said outerannular leg and said lower edge being severable at said plurality ofopenings to facilitate removal of said closure; and means connected toSaid peripheral channel adapted to lockingly engage the open end of saidcontainer body whereby the open end of said container body is receivablebetween said outer annular leg and said annular flexible sealing leg andsaid annular flexible sealing leg is adapted to abut the end of saidcontainer body and flex to form at least a partial seal about said openend.
 2. A closure as claimed in claim 1 wherein said annular flexibleleg has a plurality of recessed portions extending from an end of saidflexible leg toward said base portion and spaced about a surface of theflexible leg facing said outer annular leg whereby during the engagementof said closure and said container body compressed gas may escape alongsaid recessed portion.
 3. A closure as claimed in claim 2 wherein saidcenter portion is connected to an end of said inner annular leg wherebysaid center portion and said inner annular leg form a receptacle toreceive a bottom end of a stacked container body.
 4. A closure asclaimed in claim 1 wherein an end portion of said outer annular legopposite said base portion is crooked to form a recess for facilitatingthe centering of said closure upon said open end of said container body.5. A tamper-proof closure adapted to close an open end of a containerbody comprising: a center portion; a peripheral channel comprising abase portion, an outer annular leg attached to an outer edge of saidbase portion and extending downwardly therefrom; an inner annular legattached to an inner edge of said base portion and extending downwardlytherefrom, said center portion being integrally formed to a lower edgeof said inner annular leg, and an annular flexible sealing leg attachedto said base portion and extending downwardly therefrom, said annularflexible sealing leg being positioned between said inner and said outerannular legs; a projecting bead integral with said outer annular leg andextending toward said annular flexible sealing leg, said bead beingspaced apart from an end of said outer annular leg opposite the base andsaid bead including a cam follower surface and an abutment surface; anda plurality of openings spaced about said closure in said annular outerleg, an end portion of said outer annular leg opposite said base beingcontinuous about said closure said end portion of said outer annular legbeing severable at said plurality of openings to facilitate removal ofsaid closure, whereby the open end of said container body is receivablebetween said outer annular leg and said annular flexible sealing leg andsaid annular flexible sealing leg is adapted to abut the end of saidcontainer body and flex to form at least a partial seal about said openend.
 6. A closure as claimed in claim 5 wherein said annular flexibleleg has a plurality of recessed portions extending from an end of saidflexible leg toward said base portion and spaced about a surface of theflexible leg facing said outer annular leg whereby during the engagementof said closure and said container body compressed gas may escape alongsaid recessed portion.
 7. A closure as claimed in claim 6 wherein saidcenter portion is connected to an end of said inner annular leg wherebysaid center portion and said inner annular leg form a receptacle toreceive a bottom end of a stacked container body.
 8. A closure asclaimed in claim 7 wherein an end portion of said outer annular legopposite said base portion is crooked to form a recess for facilitatingthe centering of said closure upon said open end of said container body.9. A closure as claimed in claim 5 wherein an end portion of said outerannular leg opposite said base portion is crooked to form a recess forfacilitating the centering of said closure upon said open end of saidcontainer body.